Campaigns and Elections

Sean O'Brien was the keynote speaker at a recent gathering of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. O'Brien shared the Sorensen perspective on this year's campaignsâ€”underscoring his hopes that Virginians will demand more positive, ethically-centered, issue-driven political campaigns in the future. The meeting was held at Keswick Hall outside Charlottesville on Wednesday evening, November 1.

Greg Schuckman, a graduate of the Political Leaders Class of 1998, is running in a nationwide election for an at-large seat on the Board of Directors for the Association of Community College Trustees. Having received the nomination of the southern region, Schuckman is one of six candidates vying for three seats. The election will be held on October 13. Good luck Greg!

Coy Barefoot took a journey into the blogosphere this past week on "Charlottesville--Right Now" when he interviewed two of the Commonwealth's most well-read and respected political bloggers: Republican Shaun Kenney of ShaunKenney.com and Democrat Lowell Feld of RaisingKaine. Both interviews focused on the Senate race between George Allen and Jim Webb--including a discussion of the impact, if any, of Allen's "macaca" remark.

Sean Oâ€™Brien, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for
Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, said it was
imperative for Webb to grow his campaign war chest this month to
convince people he can be competitive in the fall. â€œWeâ€™re in
August now, and itâ€™s hard to get campaigns to get traction in August.
Itâ€™s one of the most important times,â€ he said.

Sorensen Executive Director Sean O'Brien was quoted in today's issue of the Washington Examiner regarding the U.S. Senate Race in Virginia:

"...a University of Virginia political expert warns that without a
large fundraising push this month, Webb will likely not be able to
compete with incumbent George Allen. According to federal
campaign finance records, as of June 30 Webb has raised $1.1 million in
funds, compared to the $10.3 million that Allen has raised.

â€œItâ€™s
going to take Webb several million to be competitive,â€ said Sean
Oâ€™Brien, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political
Leadership at the University of Virginia. Oâ€™Brien said the amount
of money being raised will likely be a self-fulfilling prophecy â€” if
Webb begins to raise money, more is likely to come in, as more voters
will believe he has a chance to defeat Allen. However, if he cannot
improve fundraising, it will be difficult to convince people to
contribute..."

Political Leaders Program Class of 2003 graduate Adisa Muse (shown here with former Lieutnenant Governor John Hager), has traveled to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) where he served as a consultant during the elections that were held there yesterday.

Muse is working with Dr. Oscar Kashala, one of over 30 candidates that stood for the Presidency yesterday-- the first free multi-party elections in the Congo in 40 years.

Alfonso Lopez

Political Leaders Program

Class of 2003

Alfonso was the Director of the Virginia Liaison Office during the Kaine administration. In 2011 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in the 49th District. He also serves on the Sorensen Institute's Northern Virginia Regional Board.